Vocabulary[1] 11^th Grade

Directions: Each week you will have a quiz on nine words. You may also be assigned corresponding activities in order to help you learn the words.

List #1

1.  abstract: thought of apart from concrete realities, specific objects or actual instances

2.  aesthetic: pertaining to a sense of beauty in nature and art

3.  benevolent: expressing goodwill or kind feelings to others

4.  capricious: subject to changing one's mind without much thought; erratic; whimsical

5.  complacent: self-satisfied; unconcerned; content to a fault

6.  conciliatory: regaining goodwill or favor; tending to placate

7.  devious: departing from the most direct way; circuitous; roundabout

8.  diligent: constant and earnest in effort and application; persistent in doing something

9.  discernible: ability to perceive something obscure or concealed; discriminating

List #2

1.  dogmatic: asserting opinions in a dictatorial manner

2.  eccentric: unconventional; deviating from accepted practice

3.  fallacious: deceptive; logically unsound; misleading

4.  indifferent: without interest or concern; not caring; neutral

5.  inquisitive: questioning; eager to learn; given to examination

6.  meticulous: taking or showing extreme care about minute details; painstaking; thorough

7.  pertinent: relating directly and significantly to the matter at hand

8.  plausible: having the appearance of truth, reliability or reason

9.  reticent: disposed to be quiet or not speak freely; reserved

List #3

1.  candid: frank or outspoken; free from reservation or disguise

2.  inevitable: unable to be avoided, evaded or escaped; certain

3.  lethargy: state of being dull, listless, drowsy or unenergetic

4.  morose: sullenly ill-humored (person); expressing gloom; glum

5.  novice: a beginner; person who is new to a work place or situation

6.  obscure: hard to perceive; nebulous; meaning not clear or plain

7.  ostentatious: characterized by a pretentious show in order to impress

8.  precocious: unusually advanced or mature development or talent

9.  prevaricate: to speak falsely or misleadingly so as to avoid the truth; to lie

List #4

1.  querulous: carping; characterized by or full of complaints

2.  quiescent: being at rest; quiet or still; inactive or motionless

3.  repose: state of being at rest; dignified calmness; sleep

4.  repudiate: to reject with disapproval, condemnation or denial

5.  soporific: anything causing or tending to cause sleep; drowsy

6.  spontaneous: a natural impulse or tendency; without premeditation

7.  squander: to spend or use extravagantly, lavishly or wastefully

8.  theoretical: hypothetical; existing only in principle; not practical

9.  virulent: actively poisonous; intensely noxious; deadly

List #5

1.  apathy: absence or suppression of passion, emotion or excitement; indifference

2.  disdain: looking upon or treating with contempt; thinking unworthy of notice

3.  diverse: composed of different elements or qualities; unlike

4.  enigma: a puzzling or inexplicable occurrence; a baffling problem, situation or person

5.  futile: completely ineffective; serving no useful purpose

6.  gratuitous: given without recompense or benefit; voluntary

7.  hackneyed: made commonplace or trite; banal

8.  incessant: continuing without interruption; constant

9.  insidious: intended to entrap or beguile; enticing but harmful; seductive

List #6

1.  integrity: uncompromising adherence to moral and ethical principles

2.  jocular: jovial and playful; given to jesting

3.  kindle: to start a fire; to cause (a flame or blaze) to begin burning

4.  ludicrous: causing or deserving laughter because of absurdity

5.  provocative: serving or tending to stimulate or excite

6.  reclusive: living in seclusion; shut off or apart from the world

7.  reverence: a feeling or attitude of deep respect tinged with awe; veneration

8.  scrutinize: to examine minutely; to conduct a searching inquiry

9.  superficial: of the surface; concerned only with the obvious; apparent rather than real

List #7

1.  affinity: natural liking for or attraction to a person, thing or idea; close connection

2.  clairvoyant: having the paranormal power to see objects/actions not perceived by the senses

3.  emulate: to imitate in an effort to equal or surpass; to rival with some degree of success

4.  expedite: to speed up the progress of; accelerate; perform promptly

5.  impetuous: of great energy and impatience; characterized by sudden or rash action or emotion

6.  innocuous: not harmful or injurious; harmless; not likely to irritate or offend

7.  mundane: of this world or earth; not heavenly; worldly; secular

8.  penitent: feeling or expressing pain (sorrow) for sin (misdeeds) and disposed to atonement

9.  propensity: a natural inclination or tendency; a bent; a leaning

List #8

1.  regressive: tending to revert or go back; reverting to an earlier or less advanced state or form

2.  resilient: having power to return to the original form; able to recover readily from misfortune

3.  sedentary: characterized by a sitting position posture, inactivity and lack of exercise

4.  succinct: showing verbal brevity; expressed in a few words

5.  terse: effectively brief and to the point; pithy; neatly concise

6.  ubiquitous: being everywhere, esp. at the same time; omnipresent

7.  vindictive: revengeful; spiteful; showing a retaliatory spirit

8.  wanton: done maliciously or cruelly and without a motive

9.  zenith: the upper region of the sky; the highest point or state

List #9

1.  ramification: a related or derived development; consequence; implication

2.  rapacious: given to plundering; inordinately greedy

3.  recalcitrant: resisting authority or control; not obedient or compliant; unruly

4.  recant: to withdraw or disavow (a statement, opinion etc.), esp. formally; retract

5.  recrimination: a countercharge against an accuser

6.  redolent: having a pleasant odor; fragrant; odorous

7.  redundant: characterized by unnecessary repetition in expressing ideas; wordy

8.  refutable: proving to be false or erroneous (opinion or charge)

9.  relegate: to send or consign to an inferior position, place or condition

List #10

1.  relinquish: to renounce or surrender (position, right, claim); to give up, put aside

2.  remonstrate: to reason or plead in protest, objection or complaint

3.  reparation: the making of amends for wrong or injury done

4.  replenish: to make full or complete again; to supply with fresh fuel

5.  reprehensible: deserving rebuke or censure; blameworthy

6.  requisite: required; necessary

7.  resolute: firmly set in purpose or opinion; determined; earnest

8.  rigorous: characterized by rigid severity; precise

9.  rudimentary: pertaining to the beginning or first principles; undeveloped; primitive

List #11

1.  acumen: keen insight; shrewdness

2.  chicanery: the use of sly language, reasoning etc. to trick or deceive

3.  deleterious: injurious to health; harmful; injurious

4.  epiphany: sudden, intuitive perception of or insight

5.  facetious: not meant to be taken seriously or literally

6.  homogeneous: composed of the same kind or nature; not heterogeneous

7.  incognito: with one's identity hidden, disguised or unknown

8.  kinetic: characterized by movement or caused by motion

9.  loquacious: characterized by excessive talk; garrulous; wordy

List #12

1.  lugubrious: mournful or gloomy, esp. in an affected, exaggerated manner

2.  nihilism: belief that all existence is senseless

3.  obsequious: characterized by deference; fawning; sycophantic

4.  paradigm: an example serving as a model; pattern

5.  precipitous: of the nature of a situation of great peril; extremely steep

6.  sanguine: cheerfully optimistic, hopeful or confident; reddish; ruddy

7.  unctuous: characteristic of an ointment; excessively suave or smug

8.  vacuous: empty; showing a lack of ideas or intelligence; purposeless

9.  xenophile: a person who fears or hates foreigners, strange customs, etc.

List #13

1.  acrimonious: bitter and ill-natured in language and tone

2.  alacrity: speed and willingness in acting or responding; cheerful readiness; eagerness

3.  conjecture: the act of forming an opinion from incomplete evidence; guesswork

4.  conspicuous: attracting attention by being unusual or remarkable

5.  deviate: to differ or move away from a specified course or prescribed mode of behavior

6.  disparage: to speak of or treat slightingly; depreciate; belittle

7.  erudite: possessing deep and extensive learning, esp. learning gotten from books; learned

8.  exonerate: to free from a charge; to declare blameless

9.  extricate: to free or release from entanglement or difficulty; to disengage

List #14

1.  incorrigible: incapable of being corrected or reformed

2.  indolent: reluctant to exert oneself; habitually lazy

3.  judicious: having or exhibiting sound judgment; sensible; wise

4.  mitigate: to make less severe or intense; to moderate

5.  ostensible: easily perceived by any of the senses or by the mind; obvious; noticeable

6.  palpable: easily perceived by any of the senses or by the mind; obvious; noticeable

7.  pandemonium: wild uproar or noise; tumult

8.  rectify: to set right; to remedy

9.  surreptitious: Done or acting in secret; sneaky; stealthy; furtive; concealed

List #15

1.  abject: so low or degrades as to be hopeless wretched; miserable

2.  affluence: having an abundance of material goods; rich; wealthy

3.  analogous: similar in biological function but different in structure and origin

4.  arbitrary: depending on choice or discretion rather than defined by law; based on opinion, preference or whim

5.  cognizant: having conscious recognition; with a range of understanding or awareness

6.  compulsory: required by authority; having the power of driving or urging forcefully or irresistibly

7.  destitute: lacking something needed or desirable; extremely poor

8.  disseminate: to spread abroad as though sowing seeds

9.  fortuitous: happening by chance whether good or bad; random; unexpected

List #16

1.  impeccable: not capable of sinning or liable to sin; free from fault or blame; flawless

2.  impervious: not allowing entrance or passage; impenetrable; not capable of being affected or disturbed

3.  insatiable: incapable of being satisfied (as a person or an appetite) fully

4.  oscillate: to swinging or sway backward and forward like a pendulum; to vibrate; to fluctuate

5.  prerogative: exclusive privilege or right; a special advantage, esp. a right attached to an office, rank or status

6.  stringent: marked by rigor, strictness or severity esp. with regard to rule or standard

7.  truncate: to shorten by or as if by cutting off

8.  unobtrusive: not inclined to intrude, to shove/push forward or call to notice without warrant or request

9.  unscrupulous: without qualms or ethical considerations that makes someone uneasy or inhibits actions

List #17 (derived from "foreign", not Latin or Greek, words)

1.  aficionado: A devotee; a fan; an enthusiastic person about a sport/hobby

2.  alchemy: Power or process of transforming something common into something precious

3.  ambiance: An environment or its distinct atmosphere; a feeling or mood associated with a place

4.  avatar: An embodiment (concept, philosophy, tradition) usually in human form

5.  bourgeois: Characteristic of town dwellers or of the middle-class; marked by concern for material interests

6.  chaparral: A dense impenetrable thicket of shrubs/thorny bushes

7.  cognoscente: A connoisseur; a person of special knowledge in some field, esp. fine arts

8.  connoisseur: Someone qualified to act as a judge involving taste and appreciation; expert

9. dilettante: An admirer of the arts or knowledge merely superficially or as a pastime; dabbler

List #18 (derived from "foreign", not Latin or Greek, words)

1.  imbroglio: An intricate or complicated situation; painful or embarrassing misunderstanding

2.  juggernaut: Relentless, destructive, irresistible force

3.  junta: A small group, usually of military officers, ruling a country in the absence of a civilian government

4.  malaise: A vague feeling of physical discomfort or uneasiness

5.  nirvana: A place/condition of great peace and bliss; the final beatitude

6.  peccadillo: A slight offense or fault; a minor sin

7.  raconteur: Person skilled or excelling at telling stories or anecdotes

8.  vignette: a small decorative design in a book; short literary sketch (scene in a play/film)

9.  virtuoso: someone who excels in the technique of an art, especially a musical performer

List #19 (derived from Science/Biology BUG-related words)

1.  embryonic: the beginning or rudimentary stage of anything; undeveloped

2.  entomologist: individual specializing in the branch of zoology dealing with insects

3.  indefatigable: incapable of being tired out; tireless

4.  indigenous: originating in or characteristic of a particular region; native; natural

5.  industrious: working energetically and devotedly; diligent; full of energy & zeal toward work

6.  iridescent: displaying an array of lustrous, changing colors like those of the rainbow

7.  insatiable: hard or incapable of being satisfied; greedy; avaricious

8.  insecticide: a substance or preparation used in killing insects

9.  larvae: immature, wingless, feeding stage of an insect that undergoes transformation

List #20 (derived from Science/Biology BUG-related words)

1.  metamorphosis: change of form in either appearance, condition, or function; a transformation

2.  nemesis: unconquerable opponent or rival; ancient Greek goddess of divine retribution

3.  nocturnal: pertaining to the night; done, occurring or coming at night

4.  pollinate: to fertilize (to convey the fine grains or spores to the stigma) flowering plants

5.  proboscis: elongated, protrusion on the head of certain insects used for feeding

6.  quarantine: strict isolation imposed to prevent the spread of a disease (a period of 40 days)

7.  subterranean: existing, situated, or operating below the earth's surface, out of sight or secretly

8.  trepidation: tremulous fear, alarm, or agitation; trembling or quivering movement

9.  ubiquitous: existing or being everywhere, esp. at the same time; omnipresent